Part II Civil Jurisdiction and Procedure
Domestic proceedings
F166 Composition of magistrates’ courts for family proceedings: general.
(1)
A magistrates’ court when hearing family proceedings shall be composed of—
(a)
two or three lay justices; or
(b)
a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) as chairman and one or two lay justices;
or, if it is not practicable for such a court to be so composed, a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) sitting alone.
(2)
Except where such a court is composed of a District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) sitting alone, it shall, so far as practicable, include both a man and a woman.
(3)
In this section F2“lay justice” has the same meaning as in the Courts Act 2003 .